1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for a catheter valve which can be used to limit or prevent the loss of body fluid from a patient's body when the catheter is introduced into the patient's body, or which can be used to otherwise control the injection or removal of fluids through the catheter.
2. Technological Background
There are many types of medical devices which must be inserted into a patient's body, such as tubes, catheters, needles, introducer sheathes and the like. As used herein, the term "catheter" is intended to embrace within its scope any devices through which fluids are intended to be injected into a patient's body or through which there is the potential for removal or loss of body fluid from the patient's body, including by way of example but not limitation, tubes, catheters, needles, or introducer sheathes through which catheters, needles or other medical devices can be introduced into a patient's body.
When using such catheter-type devices, it is typically necessary or desireable to either control the injection of fluids into the patient's body or to control, limit or prevent fluids from escaping through the lumen of the catheter-type device. To this end, there are many types of clamping or valving apparatus which have been devised. For example, there clamps or hemostats which can be placed on the outside and used to open or close tubes or catheters by pinching or collapsing the walls, thereby controlling fluid flow through the tube or catheter either into or out of the patient's body. These types of exterior clamps or hemostats are typically intended to maintain such tubes or catheters either fully open or fully closed. However, there are some circumstances in which it would be desireable to effect only partial closure of the lumen of the tube or catheter to permit reduced fluid flow. There are other types of circumstances where constriction of the lumen of such a tube or catheter must be effected in a manner so as to prevent loss of blood or other body fluid as another medical device is introduced through the tube or catheter into the patient's body.
It would be highly advantageous to have a valve which is capable of being used for any or all such types of fluid control through a catheter-type device.